Roses with Thorns
by TheGuardianKnux
Summary: One girl, one voice, one mystery. The Palais Garnier has been shrouded in mystery, the mystery of a ghost dressed in dress clothes. And when the Palsis's own Katsuya Jounouchi is taken on as a prodogee by this "Opera Ghost" Things will never be the same.


**Author's Note: FINALLY I get to type the fracking prolog! SERIOUSLY I'm getting sick of my lack of updates too! TT_TT But I've just been having trouble tying my hands to my laptop keyboard and being productive! TT_TT I'm sorry!  
>NOTE: I own nothing, except the mystery….Oooooo…..O.O<strong>

"_HEHUHHEHUHEHUH~!"_

_CRASH!_

_Got ta keep movin-O-ooh GOD, GOT TA KEEP MOVING!  
><em>She knew she couldn't stop and turn back. No, that would be absolutely out of the question…. And even if she could, she wouldn't have the guts….

But would you honestly care about that when you're running for your life?

_SPLASH!_

Rain water splashed up, soaking her already sodden legs, making them prickle with a freezing numbness. Maybe that numbness would help out right now, maybe it would make her calm down and stop running blindly through the pounding rain that was soaking her to the bone….Or just slow her down on her thoughtless sprint…

_CRASH!_

Another loud clap of thunder resounded off of the empty cobblestone streets creating a bright, blinding flash in its wake. The flash managed to cut through the misty brigade of pounding rain and the thick rolling fog. It seems though, that the girl tearing through the empty, ghost like nighttime streets didn't seem to care though, as she continued her fast, hysterical paste down the sodden streets without so much as flinch. To her, there was too much going on that she didn't have time to register exactly where she was going, she only knew that she had to get away…Away from where it happened….

Away from the place where Hell itself had seemed to break loose.

But, that really wasn't the only other thought racing frantically through her head like a mouse about to be cached and swallowed up by a huge, bloodthirsty and hungry cat. No, the other thought racing through her head was;

How could this happen?

_Oh-O-oh God WHY! WHY WOULD HE DO DAT!_

Her honey colored orbs were wide and panicked while her already sodden hair starting to cling to her face. Her bangs clung to the sides and in front of her eyes while her other bangs clung to the cold, wet surface on the bridge of her nose. Her small, slender limbs were rather bare and freezing; the rain splashing and soaking them even more to the bone while her small bare feet had already went numb a while ago and gave a dullish feeling when they made contact with the rough and uneven cobble stones that marked the streets. The streets were empty and abandoned looking, gave the impression that no one in their right mind was up at this hour of the night which was true. True for everyone except the hysterical girl who still didn't know where she was going.

That didn't seem to matter to the world and, as we know, the world, the world's earthly nature, never stops and gives a breather to one who witness tragedy. No, the world continues to do whatever it's doing, and doesn't find the need to stop its usual pace and have mercy on anyone just because something has happened to them. Nature gives mercy to no one and, she knew that. So the rain kept pouring and pounding from the dark and cloudy night sky, while the moon stayed hidden behind black, shadowy clouds, leaving the young girl without a light source since none of the gas lamps in the many iron lamp posts were turned on during this hour at night.

Still like before though, the girl didn't care, and kept the same pace as before as she kept tearing through the streets to get away, with more rain soaking her to the bone but, you can never keep the same pace forever, especially if you're only five. So, with a hammering heart and burning lungs that felt like they were going to burst any minute, the girl, panting heavily with still wide, scared, hysterical honey colored eyes finally came to a slow stop in the middle of a random cobblestone street, ready to collapse from exhaustion.

Standing there, breathing heavily, she moved her head quickly, looking about her surroundings, making sure that she was alone. When she finally made sure, she stopped moving her head and just stood there, panting and shivering as he rain continued to pour down on her while her mind raced frantically, as she went over what had just happened.

_How could dat happen? How, oh, how, oh-HOW! I-It-I-It was just a night time right? I-And she could be-Oh Mama-How could Papa-and sis-_

Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes widening even more at that last part. She then thought it again;

_Si-Sister?  
><em>Her gaping mouth then shut tightly, her lower lip started to jut out and quiver pathetically as her eyes started to water, tears beginning to pool in her honey colored orbs. Then the tears started to cascade, almost clinging to her long lashes as she bent over onto her bare knees, unable to stand any longer as the realization of what had probably happened to her younger sister hit her head on like a ton of bricks:

Her sister was dead.

A hyperventilating sound started to erupt from her throat as the tears cascaded faster. She had finally bent all the way down onto her knees the mental awareness finally kicking in making her feel as though she go on, that it was too much to bear or to stand in the face of. She pounded a fist into the cobble stone ground, gripping it into fist tight enough for her knuckles to turn white.

_"Ack-Huhhuhhuh-ACCK~!"_

She just couldn't stand it, the thought of her being dead, gone, killed without a thought, killed while she got to live, unscathed…..

_I'M NUTHIN BUTA MUTT! _She wailed mentally to herself as the slight gusts of wind around her started to become stronger _NUTHIN BUTA DOG DAT SHUD BE LE'F ONDA STRIT TO DIE!_

The tears cascaded faster and faster, her hyperventilating sounds becoming louder as her shoulders heaved up and down with each nerve wracking sob that was escaping out from within her, shattering her usual tough girl façade. Each sob felt sorrowful and guilty, guilty of surviving while the others couldn't. Guilty at the thought that she had run away without looking back just like a coward.

So she just kept sobbing, sobbing her heart out as the wind blew around her, sliding water leaves around on the cobble stone streets as the clouds above shifted and moved. The rain continued on as another crack of thunder and lightning sounded throughout the night sky, unnoticed by the sobbing young girl in the middle of it all…But it wasn't just unnoticed by her….. Maybe something or someone else was there…

Suddenly, a noise cut through her heart wrenching sobs. 

_VvroomvvmmvmmMMvVmvv….  
><em> 

The girl abruptly stopped and sniffled, eyes wide as she panted and looked up quickly. Then, another noise, the same as before came.

_Vvvmmroomvv…._

Could it be? Could it be the same earthly hum that she had always known? The noise-no- the sound akin to that of a hum that one would say resounded from the Earth's core, the hum that some say kept order and sanity and spread peace between the Earth's inhabits was the sound that was coming from somewhere very close…..In fact the young blond was hearing it right as if it was right next to her…

The girl got all the way up off the ground, silent with only previous tears streaming down her face, her previous sobbing having disappeared completely from before. This sound she was hearing was rather nostalgic… It was a sound that she, in fact, knew very well….

_Ma-Mama? _She thought with wide, petrified but wondering eyes _Ma-Mama?_

Sniffling again, the young girl, trembling, took a slow step forward and whispered:

"Is-Is dat yooh Mama?"

The girl gripped her arms tightly, shivering and sniffling before she let out a small sneeze. Her sharp and attentive honey colored eyes, still nervous, weren't as hysterical as before as she took some more tentive steps forward, the beautiful hum becoming slightly louder while a rather whispery voice started to be heard, making the girl stop and tense up. She looked around like a scared, alerted puppy abandoned out on the road, wondering if it should really take another step forward. The voice continued on though, becoming less of a whisper and more like an invisible presence...In fact it was rather angelic, in human sounding. The voice sounded calm, comforting, and too beautiful to be a human voice….. So the girl stopped jerking around and stood still, listening to the mysterious voice…

Starting at a soft, surrounding note, the humming sound from before, which could now be identified as a violin, played softly with it, creating a calm and warm atmosphere despite the rather cold one that was there. The surrounding note then started to get louder, the sound of an angelic and breathe like "ah" wrapping its figurative hold around the shaking young blond as the angelic voice finally sung its line from its upcoming stanza, its first note…..

_Katsuya…_

The girl's honey irises widened as the voice surrounded her even more, even though it wasn't physically there but she was too surprised to care…..That voice….The way it held out the A in her name…How floating and heavenly it sung a rather long note without pause or crack…The way it surrounded her as if it was trying to heat her up like a warm blanket wrapped around her at night….It was all- all too-

_Beuwitful….. _She thought in simplicit awe _Could dit be….. _She made a silent gasp as she stared around curiously and with the upmost child like awe _An-Angwel? Da one frwom da storees? Da-Dat Mama told us?_

As if on cue, another angelic line was sung, making the young blond, Katsuya, jump a little and look around, frightened.

_Katsuya…._

Katsuya looked around once again but, like before, found nothing and knew that she wouldn't. How could a voice be so close to her ears if no one else was right next to her? But then again, the fog was as thick as pea soup, making hard enough for the young girl to see a few inches in front of her own face, also, the clouded night sky and lack of a light source made searching, again, practically impossible. To the girl though, who was only five and thus, some would consider a bit naive but in reality, she really wasn't all that naive or innocent. She just wasn't that skeptical. So, without any physical explanation, there could only be one left.

It had to be the Angel her father was taking about.

Katsuya wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes, her face flushed and exhausted looking while her honey irises hopeful and in awe as her lips pursed into a slight wondering smile as she whispered:

"Angwel?"

The violin music de-creasendoed into a soft, almost soul piercing vibrato that stopped the young girl completely, making her freeze and listen as the soft, inhuman voice sung in a small whisper in her ear;

_O child….  
>Do you give your soul to thy?<br>An object so pure;  
>that it is greater than any gift.<em>

_Do you give your soul to your angel to-night?_

_Does thyme wish for one to protect thy soul?_

_Little Lottie?_

_Does thyme wish to be graced by the Angel of Music?_

Katsuya's previously curious eyes widened, an excited feeling tightening inside her chest. It was the Angel! The Angel her mother had promised them….

But she was in too much awe, to think about that. She just knew one thing:

That this was the Angel that was meant to protect her.

With a voice trembling in awe and slight fear, she sung a soft, slightly high pitched stanza, her voice sounding pure and without any street like or child like pronunciation as she answered:

_I-I do!_

As the soft, sweet and trembling words left her lips, the violin began to pick up once again, the tempo becoming faster, the mysterious melody creasendoing into a long and expertly played vibrato once again as that unearthly singing voice sung a whispery reply.

_Then follow thyme blindly, O child…._

Katsuya, tears dried from her face, brushed away her bangs and listened as the sound of a violin started to pick up in tempo, becoming louder and more energetic as the voice sung another soothing stanza to the young girl;

_Follow me down this road then child…._

_Follow me to a palace of shining silver…_

_Where I can watch over you…_

_Where thou shall never be harmed again…_

The young girl's eyes widened in as her mouth opened in awe. This was her chance, her chance! The angel had come to her just like in Mama's stories! She would be protected and blessed…Blessed with the gift of music….Music…

She knew what she had to do, there was nothing else. She had to trust the angel, _her _angel!

So, with what one could call naivety or just faith, the young girl decided to follow her angel to this palace of silver, where the musical deity's home was without question. Running down the rest of the cobble stone road with less quivers of fear, and more hope than she could've mustered alone, the Angel lead her forward, the mysterious violin never faltering as the voice continued to sing.

Eventually Katsuya stopped, the voice's volume dropping down significantly as the violin music creasendoed downwards to a soft arpeggio of notes. Katsuya, panting slightly, looked upward in slight curiosity at the building they had stopped at.

Since it was dark, she couldn't make out exact details but what she had seen looked huge in her eyes. Stone steps and various iron lampposts lead the way to an ordinate looking stone building, its stain glass openings above what looked like many entry ways glimmered slightly with what little moonlight was able to reflect off of them. One large rounded stone opening was visible in the distance with two large, but hard to make out statues guarding the rounded and staired opening in silence. Confused honey irises gazed at the rounded opening and saw three figures standing there waiting, one holding a lantern outward, as if looking for something.

_Approach thou home, Little Lottie…_

And with that the violin started to fade out, the voice, once a prominent whisper, started to dissolve into a deathly silence, making the young blonde's eyes widen at the realization that her angel's voice was starting to fade, and disappear, and she became scared once again, petrified with terror as she cried out;

"ANGWEL! DOWN'T WEEV ME!"

But the voice continued to fade out, obviously not answering the young girl's cries as it faded completely, leaving behind only the slight twinkling of violin notes before they all faded out, leaving only the sounds rain behind.

_Pit pat, pit pat, pit pat….._

Silence. Silence filled the air for a few seconds as the shocked girl stood in the rain, not moving, not making a sound. The breeze blew around her, as rain continued to fall rather lightly now. If one could look, sadness and terror reflected in watery honey colored irises as the girl's bangs wetted back in front of those watery eyes again. Her lip jutted out and quivered, ready to sob and wail as tears pooled in watery eyes, ready to flow like water from a broken dam.

Then, the sobbing commenced.

Greif stricken wails poured out loudly, resounding off of the cobble stones with ease, making anyone in a fifty feet radius be able to easily hear her loud sobs.

And the three people at the entrance heard them easily.

Quickly, the three waiting at the entrance ran over to the young girl, relieved that they had finally found her and rather confused as to why she was on her own.

One of them ran faster than the other two, a woman with long black brown hair and copper skin, her observant blue irises reflecting concern and worry. She quickly embraced the sobbing girl into a comforting hug, and ended up getting rather damp in the process. Stroking the girl's blonde hair, she whispered comforting words that seemed like they would be in vain.

"It will be alright Katsuya," She whispered, eyes becoming rather teary as her voice wavered slightly, "It'll be alright."

The other two came up behind the exotic woman, the taller of the two speaking out in a slightly deep vocal tone as he stated calmly, "Ishizu, you're squishing her."

The one named Ishizu turned around and looked at the speaker, a slightly tall man with rather long light brown hair and slightly sweeping bangs who was holding out a gas lamp in one hand and gazing at her with unusually calm eyes. He looked at the young, weeping blonde girl for a second before look at the woman, "Not to mention, she came alone. Shouldn't you check her over incase she's injured?"

Ishizu looked down for a second her eyes down cased and thinking. She then let go of the girl and started to look her over for any injures and replied, "You're right Mahad," She then looked over at the shorter man beside the one named Mahad, "But, M. Mutou…..Do," her irises shined with confusion, "Do you think Mm. Kawai is…."

"Ok?" The shorter of the two answered his wide dark purple irises full of hidden wisdom, which one could say wasn't hidden since one usually thought that grey hair equaled wisdom. The man, defiantly older that the woman and the taller man, had sliver and rather spiky hair that sticked up in different angles when not covered with a top hat and such, with lightning bolt shaped bangs protruding out in front, just like his twin grandsons. Usually his eyes twinkled with youth and slight mischief, but at the moment they reflected only concern. He stepped over to her and looked at a scared and trembling Katsuya and added simply, "Well just look at the girl," He looked over at Ishizu, his aged face looking quite serious, "I don't think she'd be terrified if nothing had happened to her mother."

Ishizu's expression changed in an instant to one of grief as she looked downwards, saying nothing as Katsuya whimpered. Mahad gazed at the two and looked downward silently, mourning the probable loss. M. Mutou also did the same, looking down mourning. Nobody said anything, only the sounds of soft rain fall and Katsuya's whimpering filled the air as the trio of adults mourned in silence, with one trying to think of what to do with the traumatized five year old. After a few more minutes of awkward mourning silence, M. Mutou finally spoke up again, looking directly at Ishizu with a serious look in his eyes as he said, "Well, she had to come here some way or another. And if _he _requested that she would stay here then well," He looked over at Katsuya, "Then there's no reason for argument is there?"

Mahad and Ishizu looked up, their irises only reflecting slight confeusment till they remembered what he was talking about. The two looked at each other, the woman looking unsure than the man till they looked over at the elder.

"Are, are you sure?" Mahad asked first, lowering his lantern as his brown irises looked questioning. M. Mutou nodded and turned towards the entrance as he replied;

"It's what he told us to do," And with that, the ageing man started to make his way towards the stony entrance as he raised a hand and beckoned, " So, come on you two, let's get her a situated. Can't let her get a cold in the rain can we?"

Ishizu and Mahad looked at each other again and gave one big mental sigh. Mahad raised the lantern again, waiting for Ishizu who was picking up Katsuya and shifting her in her arms. Katsuya on the other hand was looking over Ishizu's shoulder and out at the distant foggy cobble stone streets, tears still pooling in her large eyes as she sniffled a bit and prayed one singe prayer….. Just one single wish…

_Angwel….Pwese come back…._

**Author's Note: YES! YES! I finally typed this beast! It's been in my head for WEEKS and I'm so proud that I finally got it done, that I'm FINALLY releasing a new project and being productive! ^^ *Blows party horn* And man, this was a rather long prolog wasn't it? I mean over 3,000 words! :DDD I'm so happy!**

**Jou: TT_TT Great, I'ma girl again! Why'da I 'av to be a girl all da time?**

**Seto: *Typing on laptop like normal* Because you and I both know, mutt, that your slender frame and shorter height are more suited for a female role than my rather tall height and not to mention, dominant personality.**

**Jou: HEY! :E I can be dominant to ya know!**

**Seto: Sure you can mutt…..**

**Seth: Oh come on Seto-Chan! :P I've seen you in a dress before….**

**Seto: -_- You really want me to kill you and end your life with a slow and painful death, don't you.**

**Seth: Well of course Seto-Chan.**

**Seto: That's it. You're dead.**

**_ I have a feeling that's going to happen a lot more than it should! Anyway, after this prolog, I'm going to instate my guide to, you guessed it, Phantom of the Opera! Here is when I'll tell you some slight behind the scene info and clear up some things if they don't make since and such! ^^ Well, I've kept you all here long enough! Be on the lookout for this stories next chapter. After that I will update Possession, then Puppy Love! I'll try to type more than a chapter a week but we'll just have to wait and see! Thanks everyone! :DD**


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